On Saturday, noted conservative pundit Fred Barnes, one of the co-founders of The Weekly Standard magazine and a regular contributor on Fox News, called the 27 Republican state attorneys general the most effective opposition to President Barack Obama.
Republican state attorneys general ... have a common enemy, Barnes said in his keynote address at a Federalist Society event at Walt Disney World on Saturday before labeling their foe as a remorseless federal government.
Barnes found a receptive audience in the 250 or so Federalist Society members attending the lunch. The Federalist Society is a right-of-center group focused on legal reform and interpreting the U.S. Constitution as the Founding Fathers intended.
Insisting the Republican attorneys general were more effective than the GOP majority in both chambers of Congress, Barnes pointed toward the recent fight over Obamas executive action giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship which, this week, spilled over on whether to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
State attorneys general ... took up the task of blocking President Obamas ... order to legalize 5 million illegal immigrants in the United States, Barnes said, adding the GOP Congress was tied down like Gulliver.
Barnes said these attorneys general were often willing to break with members of their own party, noting Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt was part of the coalition suing Obama on immigration despite Gov. Brian Sandoval, R-Nev., being on the other side of the issue.
Insisting the attorneys general were a growing force in the GOP, Barnes noted that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is a supporter of theirs and promised to lead the fight in Kentucky at a Republican Attorneys General Association event earlier this month. Currently, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi leads the Republican Attorneys General Association.
Barnes said the Republican attorneys general got on his radar screen back in 2010 when then-Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum led the constitutional challenge to Obamas health-care law. Barnes also singled out other fights the attorneys general have launched including suing over Dodd-Frank and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The conservative pundit wished them well, especially in that last challenge.
EPA is the most encroachment minded of all the government agencies in Washington, Barnes insisted, pointing to its actions on mining and fracking. EPA wants to control everything, whether its their jurisdiction or not.
Barnes said the Republican attorneys general were effective due to their common agenda and a changing legal culture, praising groups like the Federalist Society for nurturing conservative attorneys.
They have a vision, Barnes said of the Republican attorneys general. Their vision is basically to reinvigorate federalism.
Praising their efforts, Barnes insisted the attorneys general were the main opposition to Obama.
Obamas legacy is in jeopardy, Barnes said. The future of his accomplishments is very much in jeopardy.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
